What is iGEM?

iGEM has best been described by the scientific community as a ‘case of education driving research’. It does this by promoting collaborative and entrepreneurial science; educational interaction on a global scale; and the open sharing of protocols and data. In doing so, it provides a rich, unparalleled educational experience for our students; and pushes the creative limits in the synthetic biology field.

Events at iGEM

Teams of undergraduate students work on a project over the ‘US-summer’ vacation, and later present their research at a Giant Jamboree event held in Boston in late October, competing for medals and other special awards. Student teams are given a kit of biological ‘DNA’ parts and, using these parts as well as new parts of their own design, build biological systems and operate them in living cells to perform new tasks or functions.

Macquarie students at iGEM

Macquarie University, through the Biomolecular Sciences Capstone unit (CBMS330), has entered a team every year since 2010. Through the support of the research centre, the team has gone on to win numerous medals, including a gold medal for the past three years. To learn more about the projects from past teams, see: